All posts tagged: Batting

Why Washington Sundar has no problem batting anywhere for India

Why Washington Sundar has no problem batting anywhere for India

Published by Webster

3 min readJul 15, 2026 06:30 AM IST At 149/2 in the 26th over, India still needed 110 runs to win to go 1-0 up in the three-match ODI series against England at Edgbaston. Shubman Gill had looked in excellent touch, but was forced to retire hurt on 80. Out walked Washington Sundar, whose batting role has often changed depending on the format and the team’s requirements. In T20Is, he has often been used as a finisher, while in Tests he has even been trusted at No. 4. When the team sheet came out on Tuesday, Sundar was listed at No. 5. He walked out to bat at that number and responded with an unbeaten 52 as India sealed a six-wicket win, adding an unbroken 102-run stand with Player of the Match Axar Patel. Sundar said he found it exciting to play different roles, something he felt not many got a chance to do. “The fact that I play different roles is exciting. Not many people get to play different roles. I get to play …

India’s one-geared cantering ponies shown up outside IPL pastures

India’s one-geared cantering ponies shown up outside IPL pastures

Published by Webster

Six defeats and a washout across Shreyas Iyer’s first seven matches as captain. England put the last one beyond doubt in Southampton on Saturday, sweeping the series 4-0, Jos Buttler and Harry Brook adding 233 for the second wicket, the highest second-wicket partnership in T20I history, and taking with it the world No. 1 T20I ranking India had held since 2022. The series is over. What it was actually testing, is not. Two weeks ago, before a ball was bowled at Durham, the argument was that India’s batting problem wasn’t personnel, it was method. Built entirely around bat speed and boundary hitting, it asks one thing of a batter: commit early, trust the ball to arrive where it’s supposed to. Extra bounce or seam movement punishes exactly that pre-determined committing. Four matches later, the claim holds up, confirmed by a coach who has taught power-hitting technique for years, and by India’s own captain, independently describing the same failure. Julian Woods, who has worked with T20 batters across several franchise leagues, watched the collapse and diagnosed …

India’s batting misfires again as England take series in quick time

India’s batting misfires again as England take series in quick time

Published by Webster

Having won 16 bilaterals and two T20 World Cups over the last three years, India have lost two consecutive series in the space of two weeks. Needing a win at Bristol to keep the series alive, India once again faltered, appearing a bunch that fails to learn from its past mistakes and still doesn’t get a hang of the local conditions as England clinched the series with an 8-wicket win on Friday. Having been blanked by Ireland 2-0 a fortnight ago, India are facing the embarrassment of being whitewashed for the first time in a T20 series if they happen to lose in Southampton on Saturday. This was yet another outing in the tour where the batting department spectacularly failed, putting on a mere 158/7, which was overhauled by England with nine wickets in hand and 6.1 overs untouched. Shreyas Iyer era as T20I captain continues to remain winless as head coach Gautam Gambhir watched it all unravel from the dugout with a grim face. As he mentioned at the end of the previous outing, …

Pathan points out a technical flaw in Samson’s batting: ‘Take the ball away…’ | Cricket News

Pathan points out a technical flaw in Samson’s batting: ‘Take the ball away…’ | Cricket News

Published by Webster

3 min readJul 2, 2026 01:55 PM IST Sanju Samson has had a fruitful T20 World Cup 2026 and Indian Premier League seasons for the Chennai Super Kings, but his form in Indian colours has been poor after that, with three low scores in a row. Former Indian cricketer Irfan Pathan pointed out a technical flaw in Samson’s game, saying that if the ball is bowled outside the off-stump, there is a chance of dismissing the Kerala batter. “You want to take the ball away from Sanju Samson. Even if you don’t take the ball away, you want to keep the line outside the off-stump because his bat face remains closed. When his bat face is closed and he tries to play on the off-side, the bat face opens up at times,” Pathan said on Jiohotstar. In the first T20I against Ireland, Samson tried to drive the ball on the up through the covers and inside-edged it onto the stumps; in the second game, he was beaten by a delivery that came back. In the …

Batting goes to shambles as India lose by one run against Irish pluck

Batting goes to shambles as India lose by one run against Irish pluck

Published by Webster

5 min readJun 28, 2026 11:17 PM IST Having gone 16 consecutive series without losing, which included laying hands on two T20 World Cups in 2024 and 2026, India’s proud run came to a grinding halt at Belfast against Ireland. If the defeat in the first T20I on Friday came as a shock, on Sunday Ireland held their nerve when Harshit Rana threatened a heist as they won by one run to take the series 2-0. Prior to Friday, India hadn’t lost any match to Ireland. In three days they have lost two and a series. And it is another ignominious feat for head coach Gautam Gambhir, who has seen a few lows in his stint so far. Next up lies England on Wednesday and to recover the lost face, India may well have to turn to 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. For the second outing in a row, the established India batting unit failed to chase a target that was within their reach. Troubling them again was Jai Moondra, the left-arm seamer who is waiting to …

India batting coach Sitanshu Kotak

India batting coach Sitanshu Kotak

Published by Webster

3 min readUpdated: Jun 8, 2026 05:59 PM IST Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is on the verge of breaking Sachin Tendulkar’s record for being the youngest male cricketer to have played for India. If the 15-year-old Sooryavanshi plays in India’s upcoming tours of Ireland and England, he will break it, with Tendulkar being aged 16 years and 205 days when he made his debut for India in a Test against Pakistan in 1989. India batting coach Sitanshu Kotak has said that he is excited for Sooryavanshi’s arrival in the Indian team and explained what the coaches’s approach will be towards the talented teenager. “See, as a batting coach or any coach, it’s always a challenge because at this level the players have their own thinking, their own style, their own way they have succeeded. And then, you try to add something, it always takes time, it always takes the trust for them to believe. And for me, it is so important how much you want to add and when you want to add,” Kotak told reporters after …

Batting Brilliance! KL Rahul and Shubman Gill Headline India’s Day 1 Supremacy

Batting Brilliance! KL Rahul and Shubman Gill Headline India’s Day 1 Supremacy

Published by Webster

A solid century from KL Rahul and Shubman Gill has commanded India’s dominance against Afghanistan in the one-off test played at New Chandigarh. KL Rahul (100) and Shubman Gill (103*) runs have powered India to score 368 runs by the end of day 01 at Mullanpur. Opting to bat first, KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal opened the innings while Ziaur Rahman Sharifi opened the bowling attack. The duo made a 41-run partnership for the first wicket as Jaiswal lost his wicket to Saleem Safi. He got dismissed on a short length down leg, where Afsar Zazai picked the catch after a faint inside edge. Sai Sudharsan, who came to bat at No.3, stitched a 139-run partnership for the second wicket. He scored 81 runs off 104 deliveries before being dismissed by Saleem Safi after a catch from Afsar Zazai after a thick outside edge. With Shubman Gill joining KL Rahul, the latter scored a century as the side scored 247 runs for the third wicket. Stumps on Day 1️⃣ Fabulous centuries from Captain Shubman Gill …

Teams with similar batting philosophies but different depth

Teams with similar batting philosophies but different depth

Published by Webster

3 min readMay 30, 2026 11:14 PM IST Even in an IPL season defined by unprecedented scoring rates, stability remains a premium. Consistency that lasts two months can punch a ticket to the final. Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Gujarat Titans embody contrasting run-making philosophies, yet arrive at the same endpoint: clarity over chaos. It is the relative calm within their batting units that has driven success, albeit through different personnel structures. While the defending champions utilise their entire top seven, Gujarat’s batting is visibly pinned on Shubman Gill, Sai Sudharsan and Jos Buttler. The efficiency of both units through the first two phases, with minimal drop-offs in intent, has allowed them to outpace the more explosive top orders of Rajasthan Royals, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Punjab Kings. Interestingly, RCB are the only side among the top-five teams to increase their scoring rate as the innings progress. Their Powerplay strike rate of 9.75 runs per over (rpo) has transitioned smoothly into 9.9 rpo in the middle overs (7–16). While the average dips from 41 to 31, RCB …

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s 72 sixes did more than beat Chris Gayle – they rewired IPL batting

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s 72 sixes did more than beat Chris Gayle – they rewired IPL batting

Published by Parlour News

For 14 years, Chris Gayle’s 59 sixes in IPL 2012 sat in the record books the way certain numbers do: not just as a stat, but a statement of impossibility. No one came close. Gayle that season was operating at a frequency the format hadn’t seen before. 733 runs, a century, eight fifties, and a strike rate of 162 that made even the best batters look slow. He was the universe boss, and 2012 was his throne room. Chris Gayle for RCB in IPL 2012 and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi for Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2026. Then a 15-year-old from Bihar walked in and blew the door off. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s IPL 2026 season, 776 runs, 72 sixes, strike rate 238, did not just break Gayle’s record. It rewrote the ceiling. But the raw numbers hide something more interesting: these two seasons, played 14 years apart, represent fundamentally different philosophies of destruction. The Same Violence, Different Anatomy Start with what they share. Both men ended with one century, a cluster of scores in the 80s and 90s, and …

‘Jadeja’s been nursing injury’: Sangakkara on all-rounder’s limited batting role | Cricket News

‘Jadeja’s been nursing injury’: Sangakkara on all-rounder’s limited batting role | Cricket News

Published by Webster

A major talking point ahead of the IPL 2026 auction was the high-profile transfer of Sanju Samson from RR to CSK, in exchange for Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran. However, despite the inaugural champions making it to the Playoffs, Jadeja’s performances have not created the impact the franchise would have hoped for, especially with the bat, where he has been used lower down the order. Head coach Kumar Sangakkara revealed that the 37-year-old had been nursing an injury, and the team had to manage him. “He’s been nursing an injury. And we’ve had to manage him quite sensitively. So for him to go out and bat for long periods of time, it puts a lot of pressure on him, a lot of stress on him. So until he gets maybe another two days of rest, then we can use him even better,” Sangakkara said in the post-match presentation. The comments come a few days after India’s chief selector Ajit Agarkar said that Jadeja was given a rest and hence not picked for the one-off Test …